The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the European Commissioner for Trade, Maroš Šefčovič, are due to respond to MEPs’ concerns in Strasbourg next week. For the time being, it was the Director-General of the European Commission’s DG Trade, Sabine Weyand, who appeared before the members of the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade (INTA), on Wednesday 3 September to defend the agreement reached between the Commission and the United States in July (see EUROPE 13689/1). They widely expressed their disappointment, not to say anger, to her at what they describe as an “unbalanced” agreement (see EUROPE 13700/1).
MEPs from all sides deplored the way in which the Commission had allowed the US President, Donald Trump, to impose his whims on Europeans. “I have the impression that the United States put pressure on us and that we had to accept the agreement”, summed up Bernd Lange (S&D, German), Chair of the INTA Committee.
Like most of his colleagues, he also stressed the uncertainty hanging over the future of transatlantic relations following the US President’s threats to jurisdictions that legislate on digital services (see EUROPE 13695/1). This does not correspond to the predictability and stability that the Commission claims to have achieved, MEPs insisted.
MEPs Karin Karlsbro (Renew Europe, Swedish) and Kathleen Van Brempt (S&D, Belgian) also expressed concern at media reports that the Commission has delayed fining the US company Google (see EUROPE 13700/18). “This doesn’t give us any confidence”, lamented Ms Van Brempt.
The Commission representative did not respond on this particular point. As for the rest, she took the same line of defence as her President, Ursula von der Leyen: the solution found is the best possible in the current context.
Above all, the agreement creates “a platform for engagement to address all relevant issues in the relationship”, and this goes beyond trade in goods, Ms Weyand stressed.
Even for MEPs who believe that the Commission has made the right choice, questions remain about the next stage in the negotiations. “How are you going to convince the Member States and the various groups in the European Parliament of the need to press ahead with the agreement”, asked Željana Zovko (EPP, Croatian).
Her colleague from the European Conservatives and Reformists, Rihards Kols (Latvian), welcomed the return to a “stable” situation regarding tariffs, but called for a “clear timetable” for revising the agreement.
The situation is set to evolve as the Europeans seek further concessions on US tariffs, recalled Sabine Weyand.
Compatibility with world trade rules. A number of MEPs, including Jörgen Warborn (EPP, Swedish) and Bernd Lange, questioned the Commission on the compatibility of the agreement with the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The Commission representative was clear: the reality is that the United States no longer adheres to WTO rules. “We have to accept that, for a certain period of time, the situation may not be completely in line with WTO rules”, she concluded.
As for the alleged illegality of Donald Trump’s tariffs under US law, recognising this will not be enough to re-establish a normal situation, according to Ms Weyand. She warned that, even if the Supreme Court were to overturn Donald Trump’s 10% base tariff in April, it could very well have a different legal basis. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)